#Free Angela and All Political Prisoners

[egopathic]

free to watch communist/anti capitalist documentaries on youtube!

please be aware that most of these have extreme racism (not framed as good, but rather the uncensored experience of people of color) as well as on screen tragedy and death (at least in ‘the war you don’t see’)

thomas sankara, the upright man- a deeper look into an often overlooked communist leader

harlan county USA- about unionization efforts in harlan and working class solidarity

an injury to one- another union doc but truly a memorable one. this’ll make you fucking angry.

the war you don’t see- an investigation into media complacency and participation in imperialism

black power mixtape- just a fantastically informative and well done piece on black revolutionaries in america

the passion of the mao- a kind of silly and occasionally goofy but extremely informative piece of mao. definitely easy watching.

free angela and all political prisoners- a piece that focuses in on imprisonment of black activists and political prisoners in america in general (says free with ads? idk i watched on youtube and it was fine.)

surplus: terrorized into being consumers- gut wrenching discussion of capitalist consumer culture but worth a watch.

born rich- a nepo baby makes a doc about his rich friends. this is peak radicalization shit. this will make you fume.

add on with links if you have more!!

[gatheringbones]

[“Davis’s new understanding of the depth of prison depravity began here, in the worst part of the House of D, surrounded by drug users trying to kick cold turkey, psych patients doped to hell and back on Thorazine, and women too mentally ill to understand where they were, let alone the laws they had supposedly broken. As Davis later wrote, she became increasingly persuaded that something had to be done about this maximum security arrangement camouflaged as a therapeutic cellblock. Regardless of why the women in 4b had been placed there, they were all being horribly damaged. Whatever problems they had had initially were not solved, but rather systematically aggravated.

Prison officials told Davis and her lawyers that she was being kept in solitary for her own protection, as the other prisoners hated Communists. But every time she interacted with them—walking through the halls to the elevator to see her attorneys, or when someone came with fresh laundry—they were cordial at worst, curious always, and often downright excited to see her. Finally, after a week, she was transferred to the tenth-floor dormitory, the former surgical room in the hospital that had been cannibalized to deal with overcrowding. Davis estimated there were about a hundred other women in there with her. On her first day, some of the women asked her if it was true, that she was a Communist, and Davis “snatched the opportunity to tell them that most of what they had heard about Communism was a carefully woven network of lies.” First thing the next morning, the guards put her back in solitary.

This time, it was worse: Instead of being on 4b, they put her in special isolation on the sixth floor, far from anyone else. A guard was on her door at all times, and any time she had to leave—say to shower—the other women on the floor were all moved out to avoid contact. Some of the guards were sympathetic, and a few even expressed their support for Black liberation, but most were indifferent or hostile. Her presence was disruptive, the prison insisted. Her isolation was warranted. Davis knew immediately that she couldn’t let this stand, or it would set a precedent for all future political prisoners. So, she went on hunger strike until she was reintegrated into the general population.

Her strike succeeded where Andrea Dworkin’s failed, for several reasons. One, she was in the prison longer, so the stakes were higher. Davis’s strike ended up lasting ten days, during which she had only juice and water. Two, she had supporters on the outside who could publicize her strike and put pressure on the administration. Three, she had an actionable goal in mind: whereas Dworkin and her friends had been protesting the treatment of prisoners in general, Davis articulated a specific demand the prison needed to meet. And finally, perhaps most importantly, Davis had support from the other incarcerated women. Dworkin was an eighteen-year-old white college student, from an almost all-white school, who cared about the other imprisoned women but also seemed scared of them, and removed from them. Davis, on the other hand, came to the prison with deep roots in the Black community, and her vast organizing experience meant she knew how to meet people where they were and talk frankly about difficult issues and personal matters. The other incarcerated women saw her as a symbol of resistance. When rumors of her hunger strike spread through the prison grapevine, other women joined in. When they walked on her floor, they chanted, “Free Angela! Free our sister!” A huge rally was organized outside the prison, and Davis got to hear her sister Fania’s voice on a megaphone.

Finally, on the tenth day of her hunger strike, a federal court ruled that she could no longer be kept in isolation, and Davis was finally permitted to join the general population.”]

hugh ryan, the women’s house of detention: a queer history of a forgotten prison, 2022

[rotationalsymmetry]

Hey so that reminds me. I have this book — Abolition. Feminism. Now. By Angela Y Davis, Gina Dent, Erica R Meiners, and Beth E Richie, copyright 2022 so very recent — that I have yet to crack open and could use some gentle encouragement to actually read.

And here you are, presumably on tumblr to be entertained, edified, and/or have your brain put through a blender for a few minutes. So let’s have a poll.

[Image descriptions:

Book cover (title and authors as above, abstract background in orange, reddish, and violet tones.)

Back cover. Purple background. Orange and white text reads: “An urgent, vital contribution to the indivisible projects of abolition and feminism, from leading scholar-activists Angela Y David, Gina Dent, Erica R Meiners, and Beth E Richie. As a politic and a practice, abolition increasingly shapes our political moment — halting the construction of new jails and propelling movements to divest from policing. Yet erased from this landscape are not only the central histories of feminist — usually queer, anti capitalist, grassroots, and women of color-led — organizing that continue to cultivate abolition but also a recognition of the stark reality: abolition is our best response to endemic forms of state and interpersonal gender and sexual violence. Amplifying the analysis and the theories of change generated from vibrant community-based organizing, Abolition. Feminism. Now. traces necessary historical genealogies, key internationalist leanings, and everyday practices to grow our collective and flourishing present and futures.

Table of contents. Includes: preface, introduction, part 1 abolition. Part 2 feminism. Part 3 now. Epilogue. Appendices: intimate partner violence and state violence power and control wheel. Incite!-critical resistance statement on gender violence and the prison industrial complex. Reformist reforms vs abolitionist steps to end imprisonment. Further resources. Notes. Image permissions. Index.

list of other books in the abolitionist papers series, edited by Naomi Murakawa, namely: Change Everything: Radical Capitalism and the Case for Abolition by Ruth Wilson Gilmore; Rehearsals for Living by Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson; and We Do This ‘Til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transformative Justice by Mariame Kaba

Replicated image in the book of a pamphlet cover created by Jeff George and distributed by Survived and Punished (an organization that advocated for incarcerated survivors of abuse.) There is a large line drawing of a scale out of balance with a man in a business suit, large stacks of money, and sky scrapers on the heavy end and a small group of protesters holding a sign saying “free all survivors” on the other end. Large handwritten text says “no good prosecutors now or ever” and smaller stencil-like text says “how the Manhattan district attorney hoards money, perpetuated abuse of survivors, and gags their advocates.”

End image descriptions.]

[transgenderer]

Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954)[1] is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found and arrested 19 months after being abducted, by which time she was a fugitive wanted for serious crimes committed with members of the group. She was held in custody, and there was speculation before trial that her family's resources would enable her to avoid time in prison.

At her trial, the prosecution suggested that Hearst had joined the Symbionese Liberation Army of her own volition. However, she testified that she had been raped and threatened with death while held captive. In 1976, she was convicted for the crime of bank robbery and sentenced to 35 years in prison, later reduced to seven years. Her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter, and she was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

Hearst's kidnapping was partly opportunistic, as she resided near the SLA hideout. According to testimony at trial, the group's main intention was to leverage the Hearst family's political influence to free SLA members Russ Little and Joe Remiro, who had been arrested for the November 1973 murder of Marcus Foster, superintendent of Oakland public schools.[citation needed]

After the state refused to free the men, the SLA demanded that Hearst's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian, an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father obtained a loan and arranged the immediate donation of $2 million worth of food to the poor of the Bay Area for one year in a project called People in Need. After the distribution descended into chaos, the SLA refused to release Hearst.[9]

According to Hearst's testimony at her trial, she was held for a week in a closet, blindfolded and with her hands tied. During this time, SLA founder Cinque (Donald DeFreeze) repeatedly threatened her with death.[10] She was allowed to leave the closet for meals, still blindfolded, and began to participate in the group's political discussions. She was given a flashlight for reading and SLA political tracts to memorize. Hearst was confined in the closet for weeks. She said, "DeFreeze told me that the war council had decided or was thinking about killing me or me staying with them, and that I better start thinking about that as a possibility. ... I accommodated my thoughts to coincide with theirs."[10] In an April 1974 account, Hearst claimed that she had been offered the choice of being released or joining the SLA.[11]

When asked for her decision, Hearst elected to remain and fight with the SLA. The blindfold was removed, allowing her to see her captors for the first time. After this, she was given daily lessons on her duties, especially weapon drills. Angela Atwood told Hearst that the others wanted Hearst to experience sexual freedom within the unit. Hearst later claimed to have been raped by William "Willie" Wolfe and DeFreeze.[10][12][13][14]

The United Federated Forces of the Symbionese Liberation Army (commonly referred to simply as the SLA) was a small, American militant far-left organization active between 1973 and 1975; it claimed to be a vanguard movement. The FBI and wider American law enforcement considered the SLA to be the first terrorist organization to rise from the American left. Six members died in a May 1974 shootout with police in Los Angeles. The three surviving fugitives recruited new members, but nearly all of them were apprehended in 1975 and prosecuted.

The name 'symbionese' is taken from the word symbiosis and we define its meaning as a body of dissimilar bodies and organisms living in deep and loving harmony and partnership in the best interest of all within the body.

hmm

[ashtrayfloors]

Revolutionary Letter #49

Free Julian Beck Free Timothy Leary Free seven million starving in Pakistan Free all political prisoners Free Angela Davis Free Soledad brothers Free Martin Sobel Free Sacco & Vanzetti Free Big Bill Hayward Free Sitting Bull Free Crazy Horse Free all political prisoners Free Billy the Kid Free Jesse James Free all political prisoners Free Nathan Hale Free Joan of Arc Free Galileo & Bruno & Eckhart Free Jesus Christ Free Socrates Free all political prisoners Free all political prisoners All prisoners are political prisoners Every pot smoker a political prisoner Every holdup man a political prisoner Every forger a political prisoner Every angry kid who smashed a window a political prisoner Every whore, pimp, murderer, a political prisoner Every pederast, dealer, drunk driver, burglar Poacher, striker, strike breaker, rapist Polar bear at San Francisco zoo, political prisoner Ancient wise turtle at Detroit Aquarium, political prisoner Flamingoes dying in Phoenix tourist park, political prisoners Otters in Tucson Desert Museum, political prisoners Elk in Wyoming grazing behind barbed wire, political prisoners Prairie dogs poisoned in New Mexico, war casualties (Mass grave of Wyoming gold eagles, a battlefield) Every kid in school a political prisoner Every lawyer in his cubicle a political prisoner Every doctor brainwashed by AMA a political prisoner Every housewife a political prisoner Every teacher lying thru sad teeth a political prisoner Every indian on reservation a political prisoner Every black man a political prisoner Every faggot hiding in bar a political prisoner Every junkie shooting up in john a political prisoner Every woman a political prisoner Every woman a political prisoner You are political prisoner locked in tense body You are political prisoner locked in stiff mind You are political prisoner locked to your parents You are political prisoner locked to your past Free yourself Free yourself I am political prisoner locked in anger habit I am political prisoner locked in greed habit I am political prisoner locked in fear habit I am political prisoner locked in dull senses I am political prisoner locked in numb flesh Free me Free me Help to free me Free yourself Help to free me Free yourself Help to free me Free Barry Goldwater Help to free me Free Governor Wallace Free President Nixon Free J Edgar Hoover Free them Free yourself Free them Free yourself Free yourself Free them Free yourself Help to free me Free us DANCE

—Diane Di Prima, from Revolutionary Letters: 50th Anniversary Edition (City Lights Pocket Poets Series, September 2021)

[kakashihasibs]

Im so curious how you ended up in philosophy! Did you major in it? Ive only really studied it as a hobby but god if i could do college again i would study it in a heartbeat!! Whats some of yout favorite books and philosphers you resonate with?

I started off as a pre-med and bio major! I had college credits in biology already and a lot of experience and knowledge going into biology so my 1st semester i took all general education classes so i could get them done and out of the way!

One of the gen ed class was an introductory class on the western philosophical canon where were started with the Pre-socratics and ended the semester with contemporary philosophers.

Early in the semester we read the republic by Plato and we got to the divided line and i was like 'uh oh i dont think I'm very far along the line D:' (i.e., i was still somewhere in the cave lol).

Before that, zeno's paradoxes kinda blew my mind as well and i had been bugging my professor all semester during his office hours with questions. After the divided line i went to his office to talk about it and he was like, 'just so you know, you are going to end up switching ur major to philosophy.' and i was like i literally have the paperwork to switch my major in my bag right now lol. So i switched my major and that professor was my academic advisor 😌 and i went on to be a huge annoying pain in his ass for the next 5 years but i dont think he minded too much alsjdjdjsk

As for favorite books and philosophers i resonate with, i fall more into the analytic tradition so there's not much resonating. It's all very dry "it is [not] the case that" and "If we define P as [such] then Q blah blah blah"

But i agree with David Hume on a few epistemological things. I fall into the Virtue Ethics camp as opposed to Deontology (Kant) or Utilitarianism (Mill). I fucking love logic :3

I hate bioethics with a passion >:E

I have read French existentialism! So camus, sartre, and de beauvoir! I loved the hell out of Camus and de beauvoir.

Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis is a must read (<- download link to the free pdf)

Judith Jarvis Thomson's stuff on abortion is amazing and wonderful (may her memory be a blessing).

Philippa Foot is responsible for the trolley problem! But more importantly she is one of the philosophers responsible for contemporary virtue ethics!

I've recently started reading phenomenology so, The Life and Death of Latisha King: A Critical Phenomenology of Transphobia by Gayle Salamon is really good.

There's more but this is getting kinda long ^~^

Oh! I also have a masters in philosophy and politics! And I'm currently working on my writing sample to apply to PhD programs for philosophy. My areas of expertise are ethics (namely virtue ethics but I'm knowledgeable about ethics in general), and social policy (land rights/regulation, water rights, drug regulations)!

[holyskywalker]

"Social media has encouraged our individualism and has enhanced the desire to 'brand' ourselves as radical or as having the 'right' politics. It is in the interest of corporations like Facebook and Twitter that we spend as much time as possible creating free content for them, and that we feel compelled to get approval on their platforms. All of this can motivate us to want to be perceived to be doing things, rather than actually doing them. Much mutual aid work is very ordinary, sometimes boring, and often difficult. To return to an earlier example, everyone wants a selfie with Angela Davis to post, but many people do not want to take the time to visit prisoners, go to court with people, wait in long lines at welfare offices, write letters to people in solitary confinement, deliver groceries to an elderly neighbor, or spend many hours in meetings about how to coordinate care for people in need. When we get our sense of self from fame, status, or approval from a bunch of strangers, we're in trouble. It is hard to stick to our principles and treat others well when we are seeking praise and attention. If we are to redefine leadership away from individualism, competition, and social climbing we have to become people who care about themselves as part of the greater whole. It means moving from materialist self-love, which is often very self-critical ('I will be okay and deserve love when I look right, when others approve of me, when I am famous') and toward a deep belief that everyone, including ourselves, deserves dignity, belonging, and safety just because we are alive. It means cultivating a desire to be beautifully, exquisitely ordinary just like everyone else. It means practicing to be nobody special. Rather than a fantasy of being rich and famous, which capitalism tells us is the goal of our lives, we cultivate a fantasy of everyone having what they need and being able to creatively express the beauty of their lives. This is a lifelong unlearning practice because we have all been shaped by systems that make us insecure, approval-seeking, individualist, and sometimes shallow. Yet we also all have the deeply human desire to connect with others, to be of service in ways that reduce suffering, and to be seen and loved by those who truly know us and whom we love. Mutual aid groups are a place where we can notice these learned instincts and drives in ourselves and unlearn them--that is, make choices to act out of mutuality and care on purpose."

Dean Spade, Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (And the Next) (2020)

[lboogie1906]

Sidra Smith (born February 28, 1971) in Camden, New Jersey. She is a producer and writer, known for A Luv Tale (1999), Daredevil (2003), and Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2012).

She has an identical twin sister actress Tasha Smith. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[readingthroughtheapocalypse]

Hullo! I thought I’d start out by introducing myself My name’s Milo, I’m trans and non-binary and use they/them pronouns. I live on unceded Gadigal land, in so-called Sydney, Australia. I’m youeatdogchow on Instagram, and youeatdogfood on Tiktok (yes I’m on booktok), and I’m also on Goodreads, Storygraph, and Bookworm Reads. If you hadn’t guessed, I read a lot of books… like a lot… most of my free time is spent reading, and occasionally cycling through other various hobbies I never stick to (thanks ADHD). My current hobby/hyperfixation is learning how to play the harmonica, but I’ll be honest I’m not doing too well. I also get asked a lot how I concentrate on reading so well in light of my ADHD, and while I wouldn’t be able to do it so easily w/out medication (🙏 god bless u ritalin), I’m also autistic and reading is w/out a doubt my main special interest, and never fails to make me feel better and brings me back to baseline when I’m feeling dysregulated and overstimulated. And it doesn’t hurt that I work in a bookstore part-time, which fuels my dedication. I’m also a mental health support worker, and I’m in my third year (nearly fourth) of a Bachelor of Social Work at uni. I love it, but it’s definitely a slog. I’m taking a little half-year gap year fr the rest of 2023, and what inspired me to start this blog was that I’m missing studying and writing papers, and bc of this many of my latest book reviews on Goodreads, etc, have turned into what are essentially small essays. So I thought why not start a blog where I can just shout my essay-length opinions on books into the void that is the internet, and hope someone out there appreciates them.

But anyway, moving on. I generally read anywhere frm 70-90 books a year, and I mostly read non-fiction, w one or two fiction books thrown in every other month when I feel like switching it up. My nonfic choices used to predominantly be socio-political nonfic, and often around topics of policing and prison abolition and similar, w some history books thrown in, but in the last half year I’ve branched out a little, and have been reading more books on science and biology, and particularly on what someone once called “hopeful environmentalism” (an example would be Robin Wall Kimmerer’s ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ or Merlin Sheldrake’s ‘Entangled Life’). So I’ve been having fun w that!

Some of my favourite books are ‘Tomboy Survival Guide’ by Ivan Coyote (absolute all-time fave!), ‘Born to Run’ by Bruce Springsteen (maybe this seems like an odd choice but I’m a diehard Bruce fan), ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer, ‘Inflamed’ by Rupa Marya and Raj Patel, ‘The Monster’s Bones’ by David K. Randall, ‘The Feminist Bookstore Movement’ by Kristen Hogan, ‘Are Prison’s Obsolete?’ by Angela Y. Davis, ‘Prison Writings’ by Leonard Peltier, ‘No More Police’ by Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie, ‘Entangled Life’ by Merlin Sheldrake, and ‘Blood in the Water’ by Heather Ann Thompson, among many others.

Some other things about me: I have terrible taste in movies; most every book I read is serious and academic and sometimes even heart-wrenching, and I cope just fine, but I can’t handle serious tele and movies, and mostly just watch ridiculous and silly comedies. My favourite movie is Charlie’s Angels (2000) and Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz were definitely my gay root. I also went through an obsession w the show Our Flag Means Death, and I know when season two comes out (!!!) my obsession will def skyrocket again and it will consume me. I also have a 1308 (as of 01/09/23) day streak on Duolingo learning French, but honestly I do one lesson a day and it goes in one ear and straight out the other, so I can passably read French but can’t speak a lick of it. Also, as mentioned, I love Bruce Springsteen. I’ve seen him in concert once (best night of my life), but I have two Springsteen tattoos, and I’m always in the top .01 per cent of Springsteen listeners every Spotify wrapped, and I take my Bruce dedication seriously. I also love collecting cassette tapes (my collection is small but growing), and I have an old 1972 National Panasonic portable cassette player/recorder that is one of my most treasured possessions.

I can’t think of anything else rn, so I’ll leave it at that! Nice to meet you, please always feel free to say hi and introduce yrself back. Thank you fr popping by to check out my blog and taking the time to read my reviews :~) I hope you enjoy!

[the-final-straw-blog]

Revolutionary Arts with Signal Journal + Abolition with Mwalimu Shakur

Josh MacPhee & Alec Dunn on Signal 08

First up, Ian interviews Josh MacPhee and Alec Dunn, co-editors of Signal, about the recently published eighth volume of the Journal of International Political Graphics and Culture. They discuss their motivations and experiences producing Signal for over a decade, designing print media in the digital age, and their work as part of Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, long-running, geographically dispersed artist collective dedicated to the production of radical art for grassroots movements. [ 00:05:33 - 00:44:37]

Transcript

PDF (Unimposed)

Zine (Imposed PDF)

Mwalimu Shakur on Abolition, Organizing and Education

Then, you’ll hear most of a conversation with imprisoned New Afrikan revolutionary socialist, Mwalimu Shakur currently incarcerated in Corcoran Prison in CA, about abolition, political education and the hunger strikes of 2013 in which he participated. [00:45:14 - 01:12:37]

Transcript

Mwalimu PDF (Unimposed)

Mwalimu Zine (Imposed PDF)

Mwalimu's Instagram

Past interview with Mwalimu

Mwalimu's writing on KnockLA and SFBayView (1, 2)

Interviews about CA Hunger Strikes in 2013 with Ed Mead of CA Prison Focus (1, 2)

You can get in touch with Mwalimu:

Terrence White #AG8738 CSP Corcoran PO Box 3461 Corcoran, CA 93212

Sean Swain

Sean's segment [01:12:40 - 01:20:01]

Announcements

BRABC Letter Writing

Join Blue Ridge ABC on the first Sunday of each month, next up being August 6th from 3-5pm at the NEW Firestorm spot at 1022 Haywood Road, in West Asheville. And swing by our table at the ACABookfair August 12-13 at Different Wrld to get involved, get a poster for the upcoming International Week of Solidarity with Anarchist Prisoners and check out the other awesome stuff.

ACABookfair

If you're nearby, consider a visit to the 3 days of event around the Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair in Asheville from August 11-13 with tons of speakers, publishers, music and more. https://acabookfair.noblogs.org

Dr. Mutulu Shakur, ¡Presenté!

New Afrikan revolutionary elder, accupuncturist and revolutionary Dr. Mutulu Shakur joined the ancestors at the age of 72. He was released by the state after 36 years in prison, organizing, healing, educating and inspiring despite having developed a virulent bone cancer. Dr. Shakur spent the last year on this planet continuing his work, speaking and attending events, surrounded by loved ones. Rest in power.

Ruchell "Cinque" Magee Will Be free!

Politicized prisoner and jailhouse lawyer, Ruchell “Cinque” Magee, is slated to be released after 67 years in the California prison system. Cinque is 84 years old, arrested on an indeterminate sentence around a marijuana charge from 1963, he joined the attempted jailbreak during the Marin County Courthouse shootout in which Jonathan Jackson attempted to free William A. Christmas and James McClain. Ruchell was the sole survivor and was a co-defendant of Angela Davis until their cases were split. There is a fundraiser to support Cinque’s post-release needs as an elder: https://fundrazr.com/82E6S2

Rashid's Treatment Resumes, Thanks To Support!

As an update to past announcements from Kevin “Rashid” Johnson of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party, the public pressure from calls & emails apparently had the desired results and as of a few days ago he was receiving the medical treatment he needs for his prostate cancer, though he hasn’t received all of his papers so he can continue to pursue his lawsuits against the Virginia DOC since they were confiscated by prisoncrats, but he’s super thankful for public engagement to defend his health. More updates on his case can be found at rashidmod.com

. ... . ..

Featured Tracks:

Don't Play Around (Instrumental) by DJ Nu-Mark from Broken Sunlight Series 6

Black Hole by The Bulletproof Space Travelers from Urban Revolutions - The Future Primitive Sound Collective

Check out this episode!

[deepartnature]

Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex by Angela Davis

“Imprisonment has become the response of first resort to far too many of the social problems that burden people who are ensconced in poverty. These problems often are veiled by being conveniently grouped together under the category ‘crime’ and by the automatic attribution of criminal behavior to people of color. Homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mental illness, and illiteracy are only a few of the problems that disappear from public view when the human beings contending with them are relegated to cages. Prisons thus perform a feat of magic. ...”

History Is A Weapon

[PDF] Are Prisons Obsolete?, W – Are Prisons Obsolete?, amazon

Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex

Abolishing The Prison Industrial Complex

2011 September: The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975, 2013 February: Angela Davis, 2014 December: Angela Davis: ‘There is an unbroken line of police violence in the US that takes us all the way back to the days of slavery’., 2015 December: Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2012)

[whyfilms]

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2012)

Directed by Shola Lynch

-

프리 안젤라 & 올 펄리티칼 프리즈너 (2012)

숄라 린치에 의해 연출됨

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Oscars 2023, Presented By Me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE AWARDS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Off the bat I went into this kinda sour cause I consider Jordan Peele's Nope to be one of last year's best movies for literally every category you can think of (I'll link my post on this here when I finish it) and the fact that it wasn't even nominated just kinda made me uninterested in the Academy's picks, but hey I watched it anyway so here we go

-The Whale has a lot of discourse surrounding it regarding fatphobia and appropriation; I will say that I am very proud of Brendan Fraser for getting the Best Actor win (seriously this man has been through a lot in the industry) and I acknowledge the talent that went into the makeup and hairstyle (which The Whale won the award for), but I agree that there needed to be more consideration around portrayals of morbidly obese people in a movie where they were... clearly not using actual obese people. Yeah. Anyway

-EEAAO won! Like everything! They swept the ceremony with wins in Leading Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, Writing (Original Screenplay), Film Editing, and Best Picture! Ok so lemme break this down:

I know I'll get crucified for this or whatever but I was hoping Kate Blanchett would win Best Actress cause I loved her performance in Tár, but Michelle Yeoh was definitely deserving of the win, and it makes me very happy to see older women in the industry beating back the misogyny around Hollywood's aging policy by winning these kinds of awards

Ke Huy Quan, oh what to say about this man. 8 year old me had a crush on him in The Goonies, and I'm so proud of him for springing back so strongly despite his hardships. His acceptance speech was the most emotional I got all night (didn't help that Harrison Ford presented his award to him, I am being personally attacked-)

I love Jamie Lee Curtis, and I was very happy for her win (and anyone who gives her hate for winning is goddamn annoying and not achieving anything other than putting down someone who doesn't deserve it). Having said that, yeah definitely not the best decision giving the only white person in the cast an award for a role that was no where near as important as Stephanie Hsu's role (as well as Angela Bassett's in Wakanda Forever). Feel free to call out the Academy for their shit distribution system at any point

At this point I have yet to see EEAAO, but from what I can see the editing and creativity behind the visuals was insane so good for them for winning in those categories, as well as Best Picture

Loved the energy of the directors, and it was nice that this movie about the Asian diaspora experience not only told their story for all to see, but did a lot for the queer community as well (shout out to the co-director for calling out transphobia and the new anti-drag wave with no hesitation, we stan)

-India came out swinging with a win for "Naatu Naatu" in Best Original Song and The Elephant Whispers for Best Documentary Short Film, Desi folks have been wanting to share their media for eons so I'm very proud for them and can't wait to see more in the future

-The acceptance speech for Best Documentary called Putin the hell out, and the people behind it are still fighting to get Alexei Navalny out of prison; it was bold considering the Oscars are "non political", but speaking out against dictators locking up innocent people should never have been considered political in the first place so good for them

-Angela Bassett holding Austin Butler's hand when Best Actor was being announced 😭

-Who the fuck sold their soul for All Quiet on the Western Front to win all those goddamn technical awards (seriously they won nine. NINE. This movie was a REMAKE. How is Hollywood still so obsessed with 'white man in the trenches' type movies)

-Honestly I would've been sad no matter which movie won Best Animated cause this year's contenders were all SO strong (I watched more movies in this category than I ever have, that should show how good they were). I still wish Wendell and Wild had been nominated (Me? Having a Jordan Peele bias? Blasphemous). With Pinocchio's win, I'm glad that stop motion animation is getting appreciated (which Wendel and Wild totally doesn't have *cough cough* you totally shouldn't watch Wendel and Wild on Netflix *cough cough*). Personally, I wanted Sea Beast to win; it was a highly underrated movie with a black girl lead that was not only very diverse in their people of color and female characters, but also had a strong anti-colonialist theme about how history is written by the winner, and we must be critical of how we analyze the material we consume about the past (its also essentially a love letter to pirates; it shows more accuracy in accents, people and lifestyles surrounding actual pirates than most pirate media, seriously ITS ON NETFLIX, GO WATCH IT)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THE CEREMONY~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Moving on to the Oscar production itself, lets start with the host... I didn't care about the host. Moving on- (ok genuinely it wasn't the worst but I can't help but feel like the Oscar awards ceremony used to be funnier and now we just have Jimmy Kimmel making non-stop Slap jokes and asking Malala, the Taliban survivor, about Spitgate while a dude dressed as Cocaine Bear crawls around on the ground, what in the fuck happened to the Oscars lmao)

-Is it just me or did the Oscars go very quickly? The pacing was much faster than I remember, they spent less time building suspense for announcements, and moved onto new segments like they were in a rush. Not sure if its for practical reasons or cause of this new era of needing to get information out as quickly as possible (short attention spans and what not) but it really stood out to me this season

-We got an official trailer for live action The Little Mermaid and... god it was so weird, Disney is one of the biggest entertainment monopolies in the world HOW CAN THEY NOT AFFORD BETTER CGI (the under water scenes just don't look right and its taking me out) but uh congrats to Halle Bailey I guess?

-Harrison Ford is old as hell but he's out there putting his whole Fordussy into announcing the awards (also his voice is really fucking soothing for some reason, just close your eyes and listen to his announcement segment like??? free ASMR right there)

-They brought a donkey on stage. That's it that's the post. There was donkey.

-Ana de Armas looked gorgeous. Yes I am dedicating a part in this post to point this out

-So did Janelle Monáe. I really like Janelle Monáe. Anyways

-Ariana DuBose's voice cracking when she announced Best Supporting Actor like we do not deserve this woman and neither does the Academy

-Everyone in the crowd would cheer very loudly whenever EEAAO or Wakanda Forever won anything lmao they knew who deserved the awards and they were VOCAL

-When Michelle Yeoh made her acceptance speech I swear to god I have never seen the crowd that well behaved and hyped. They would cheer so loud and as soon as it looked like Michelle was gonna speak they were SILENT, and when she was done they were right back to roaring like it was so funny and very nice to watch

-Michael Jordan saying "Hi Auntie. We love you" to Angela Bassett was so sweet I'm gonna cry

-I'm a cinema history nerd so I was very invested in Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors teaching me about how in old cinema when they wanted certain camera angles, they'd have to get a stage that rises up and sinks down and prop the camera on that cause there didn't used to be pulley systems for cameras and I thought it was cool :]

-Lady Gaga's voice is so fucking smooth even on a mic, how does she do it

-Andrew Garfield morphing into the physical manifestation of "photogenic" when Jimmy Kimmel shouted him out oml

-Having Halle Berry, the first woman of color to receive a Best Actress award, presenting Michelle Yeoh's award as the first Asian to win Best Actress is that one Gaga meme (this the one https://www.glossy.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2022/09/gaga.jpeg)

-Pedro Pascal and Elizabeth Olsen duo announcing and Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh duo announcing and Paul Dano and Julia Louis-Dreyfus then Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas (Latines ftw) and Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt's funny backstage photos and Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry's announcing best costume and with their over-the-top glorious outfits and Miss Cara MF Delevingne and THE Zoe Saldana like were they TRYING to kill me with these announcers? (For context: they are hot, and beloved. Thank you for listening.)

-Speaking of Pedro Pascal... what the fuck was he doing there lmao? The finale of the fucking Last of Us aired DURING THE AWARD CEREMONY and he just pops up at the Oscars like he doesn't have somewhere to be lmao what an icon

-Loved seeing Harry Shum Jr. doing the moonwalk and carrying James Hong during the after party

-Stephanie Hsu going up on stage to perform "This Is a Life" when she came in as a crowd member nominee like the range this woman has

-"Naatu Naatu" live performance was the performance highlight of the Oscars, I don't care come at me I can fight (also the mental image of old white people at this awards ceremony seeing Bollywood style dance and song for the first time is so fucking funny to me like they thought the Encanto performance with Meghan Thee Stallion last year would be the end of it but NOPE)

-Overall, this year was not too crazy (the pain of Amy Schumer hosting mixed with The Slap can never be out-crazied tbh), Jimmy Kimmel was Jimmy Kimmel, and I'd say the highlights were in the EEAAO wins and the music performances. Its the Oscars, nothing more to say

[projectpolitics]

Film, T.V. and Books 

If you want to learn more about this topic in various media forms:

Film

Grand Army (2020)

The Color Purple (1985)

Daughters of the Dust (1991)

Hidden Figures (2016)

Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners (2012)

Books

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center by Bell Hooks

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens by Alice Walker

Hope in the Holler: A Womanist Theology by A. Elanie Brown Crawford

Aint I a Woman? by Bell Hooks

[filmgifs]

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (2012), dir. Shola Lynch

[pacingmusings]

Seen in 2022:

Free Angela and All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch), 2012